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Album title: Shades of a Blue Orphanage Artiste: Thin Lizzy Genre: Hard rock, blues Year: 1972 Label: Decca Producer: Nick Tauber Chronological position: Second album Notes: Album chart position: n/a Singles: n/a Lineup: Same as before, with the addition of Clodagh Simonds on keyboard, mellotron and harpsichord Review begins: Shades of a Blue Orphanage Rating: Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: Vagabonds of the Western World Artiste: Thin Lizzy Genre: Hard rock, blues Year: 1973 Label: Decca Producer: Nick Tauber Chronological position: Third album Notes: The first to feature cover art by Lynott's friend Jim Fitzpatrick, who would go on to illustrate many of the band's later, better known albums. Album chart position: Singles: “The rocker” (also “Whiskey in the jar”, though that wasn't on the original album and was released as a separate single) Lineup: Same as before. Also features radio DJ David "Kid" Jensen on vocals (spoken vocal only on "Hero and the Madman"), Jan Schelhaas on organ and Fiachra Trench's string arrangements on the closer. By the time their third album was due, Decca were, understandably, getting impatient. There had been two albums from these guys and not only had there not been a hit single (or even a moderately successful one), the albums themselves had totally bombed. That all changed when during a jam session they started messing around with the arrangement of some traditional Irish songs, one of which was of course “Whiskey in the jar”, and so a legend was born. Originally due to be on the B-side of the single “Black boys on the corner”, the record company and producer, realising the potential of “Whiskey”, demanded it be on the A-side, and it became a hit. Nevertheless, the album still sold poorly, despite a single being released from it, this being “The rocker,” which would become a fan favourite. Perhaps if Decca had thought to have the hit single included on the album, instead of making it widely available to anyone with the price of a 45, the album might have sold better? Either way, this would be Lizzy's last recording for Decca, as they were unhappy with the lack of promotion their albums had received. Both were, at the time, glad to see the back of each other. Review begins Much more uptempo and a real rockfest to kick off, “Mama Nature said”, far from being the hippy-dippy lovey-dovey pastoral folk song the title suggests, is a blues-out boogie, getting everything rocking from the off, allowing Bell much more freedom to express himself on the guitar. Ironically, he would leave after this album. Sadly then “The hero and the madman” sounds like a parody when it begins, but falls into a decent little rock groove, funky in its way, but a long way from the quality of the opener. Ah but it does get better. Much better, mostly on the back of Bell's screaming guitar. Sweet. “Slow blues” is actually not that slow, or even bluesy really, with a kind of rolling, introductory drumbeat before it falls into the groove. It's , more again funky in places than bluesy really. Overall though I'd characterise it as a little indulgent and a lot boring. Not boring though is “The rocker”, the single (at least, from the album) that made people sit up and take notice, and also skewed Lizzy's direction more away from folk and blues and towards hard rock and eventually heavy metal. Possibly the first time I've heard Lynott sound, I don't know, amped up, powerful? Edgy? Angry even, dangerous? Cool to hear. The title track kind of harks back to “Whiskey in the jar”, subject-wise, though of course it's a play on, well, the play. A good hard rockout to be sure with another snarly vocal from Lynott, who seems at this point to be establishing his voice, coming out from hiding behind his bass and low vocals. The “Toora-loora” thing is a little annoying, but then, what ya gonna do, huh? Not quite sure about “Little girl in bloom”. I guess we're talking about a song to a child here, but Lynott hadn't his first child till 1978, so maybe it's a wish fulfillment? Or maybe he just felt like writing a song about a pregnant woman and the child she carries. Meh, whatever, it's a little boring again I have to say. Interesting that it uses some of the riff from their version of “Whiskey in the jar” though. “Gonna creep up on you” really utilises Lynott's bass to its growling best and has a nice sense of menace about it, kind of like a really slower and less energetic “Killer on the loose” in ways while “A song for while I'm away” has a nice sort of semi-psychedelic feel to it, sort of Beatley, slow but not so much a ballad really. Nice closer, sort of bridges the gap between the sixties and the “new” seventies. Some very nice orchestral string arrangements. Really bookends the album well with the opener, both of which I would consider the standouts on this album. Track listing and ratings Mama Nature said The hero and the madman Slow blues The rocker Vagabonds of the western world Little girl in bloom Gonna creep up on you A song for while I'm away Afterword: Without question, you can see Thin Lizzy improving in leaps and bounds here, and whether the move from Decca for their next album was anything to do with their later finding fame or not, it must be pointed out that again there was no overnight success, no magic formula in changing from one label to another. Their next album, though it would contain one of the songs that would go on to become a live classic, was pretty limp and boring too, and Lynott and Lizzy must have begun to wonder if they were ever going to make it. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: For You Artiste:Prince Genre: Pop/Soul Year: 1978 Label: Warner Bros Producer: Prince Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: 163/138 Singles: “Soft and wet”, “Just as long as we're together” Lineup: Prince: Everything Hardly the album that set the world on fire and announced a new powerhouse in town, Prince's debut album could not even improve on its initial chart placing after his death, as illustrated above (163 originally, 138 after he passed away) the first perhaps hoarse whisper of the screeching shout that was to emanate from this diminutive popstar, who would redraw the boundaries of pop, rock and soul, redefine attitudes towards sexual promiscuity, both in his lyrics and in his real life, and finally and unequivocally realise the prophecy he wrote on his million-selling Purple Rain album, “Baby I'm a star”. It's probably true to reflect that other than Jimi Hendrix and Michael Jackson, no black artist has ever crossed the divide - musically, racially, culturally and sexually – as did the man we came to know as Prince. Review begins The title track, and opener, begins with that crooning, wailing vocal that would become so associated with him, a sort of church organ going as the song develops into a gospel romp, most of it acapella (and remember, these voices were all his, and he makes them sound like a choir) but very short, more an intro to the album as the boppy, uptempo funk of “In love” takes us into the album proper. Again it's amazing that this is one man doing everything; it definitely sounds like there's a band there with him, including backing vocals, but no, it's all him. It's a very decent song, not bad at all, though of course hardly a patch on the killer hits that would just keep coming over the eighties and nineties as his fame and popularity reached its height. It's certainly very catchy though, right from the off, and leads into the first single, and the only song on the album not written solo by him, “Soft and wet”. I have to wonder though: Chris Moon? I know Prince used some odd pseudonyms in his career, Christopher being one, and I ask myself why would be collaborate with another songwriter on just one song, when this is so much his one-man show? Is this just him having fun and pretending he has a co-writer? There's some superb keyboard work here and we hear Prince using for the first time that amazing vocal range he had, from falsetto to baritone, making it seem even more as if there is more than one singer. But there isn't. “Crazy you” is driven on a really nice lazy guitar line, reminds me of Extreme's “More than words” with its sort of hollow percussion, and a very soul seventies feel to it too. Prince's voice could go to such a falsetto that, like Jackson's, it could be mistaken for a female one, and this works well in the vocals for this song, where at times you think “that's a woman's voice”. But again it isn't. Another thing it isn't – the track, that is – is long, gone after two minutes and change, which is a pity as it seemed more an idea that never quite got the chance to flower into what it could have become. Back rocking with the EWF style of “Just as long as we're together”, the second single, neither of which did any business in the charts, and oddly, the longest track by a long way, clocking in just under six and a half minutes. I can see how easy it was to cut it down though for a single, as the full-length version is basically a remix, with a long instrumental section from about the fourth minute in. It actually doesn't sound overstretched though, which is quite a feat for a song this long on a debut album, but then again, we are talking about Prince here. The first ballad comes in the shape of the Smokey Robinsonesque “Baby”, another early example of the kind of creative and artistic heights Prince would reach over his stunning career. This kind of reminds me of “The Beautiful ones” (I think; long time since I listened to Purple Rain through) with lovely sprinkly piano and strings synthesiser arrangements, with Prince's voice at the height of his soul crooning style, while “My love is forever”, which sounds like a ballad is in fact a midtempo funk, with again the falsetto vocal, a lot of Stevie Wonder in it I feel. Some really killer guitar there near the end. Kind of lounge music almost for the extremely laidback “So blue”, which mostly rides on acoustic guitar and some maybe fretless bass? God, could be trumpet. Probably synth though. Really nice almost stripped-down tune, like something you might hear late night in some Vegas off-the-beaten-track dive. Amazngly, “I'm yours” then kicks right into AOR territory, rocking everything up and taking me by surprise after the really cool laidback vibe of the last few tracks, and showing that Prince was never going to be content with being labelled pop, soul, funk, or indeed anything: this was one guy who would just jump out of any box you tried to put him in and smirk “Nice try!” As he rattles off an almost metal guitar solo here, I think it's a clear message to be had: Prince has arrived. Track listing and ratings For you In love Soft and wet Crazy you Just as long as we're together Baby My love is forever So blue I'm yours Afterword: What a revelation! I went into this convinced this would be a lacklustre affair (it even says it on Wiki: “a lackluster (sic) release”) but by His Purpleness it is anything but! This album is not flawless, but there's really very little I can point to about it that I don't like. The closer in particular is a teaser for just how good Prince was going to get, and I can only guess that the reason this didn't sell well on its release was that in 1979 soul and funk were still associated with disco, which many rockers hated. But then, it didn't sell well even after Prince died. What then can be the reason? Oh yeah, of course, that must be it: people are stupid. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
His debut is really fun to listen to. Some great songs on it.
People probably wrote this off based on reviews and the reputation of his other albums. I'd rate it about the same. |
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Album title: Prince Artiste: Prince Genre: R&B/Funk/Pop Year: 1979 Label: Warner Bros Producer: Prince Chronological position: Second album Notes: Album chart position: 52 (US) Singles: “I wanna be your lover”, “Why you wanna treat me so bad”, “Still waiting”, “Sexy dancer”, “Bambi” Lineup: Prince: Everything. Again. Holy good fuck, Warners weren't kidding around here, were they? They wanted a hit single and they made damn sure that they ... didn't get one. But it wasn't for the lack of releasing tracks, as it looks like half the album (more, in fact: five tracks out of nine) were put out as singles. Still no hit though. Interesting that Prince recorded this in a few weeks. Warners said, “We need a better album”, he said “Just leave that with me” and less than a month later he said “There you go.” Amazing. Does it suffer from being rushed though? Was it rushed? Prince seems like the kind of guy who could walk into a studio with nothing and walk out a few weeks later with two albums' worth of material! Review begins We're funking off, folks (I said funking!) with the first of five singles, “I wanna be your lover”, which shows no sign, I must say, of being rushed or of him churning out anything in desperation to satisfy the suits at Warners. Again, he's doing everything, and again my mind is blown. I mean, I've heard multi-instrumentalists, but this guy was in a different league! Some serious synth going on here. More of a rock vibe then to “Why you wanna treat me so bad” (another single) with a sense of Bowie in there somewhere and some really cool bass work. The keys in this are immense and the chorus is killer. How was this not a hit? Fucking superb guitar solo at the end. This man was a music god, was he not? “Sexy dancer” smoulders, both with funk goodness and with the almost effortless sexual energy that would characterise so many of Prince's hits; it's not too much in the way of lyrics, more a kind of raw, animal expression of lust as he pants “I want your body!” Sizzling. Of course, if that's not a girl doing the “ooh-ah”s with him then I guess Prince is indulging in the all-time number one favourite pastime for men! Wonderful peppy piano, first time he's used it on either album and boy can he play! Dancing slower then for the first ballad, “When we're dancing close and slow” - maybe something of a cumbersome title, especially as he already has two tracks with more than five words in them, but whereas “Sexy dancer” smoulders and swaggers, this breathes slow and deep and stretches langorously, again effortless but this time it's more a “come to me” vibe than “here I come”, as in the previous. More lovely piano peppers the tune with some swirling synth work, and taken together these two songs form the perfect seduction: “Sexy dancer” the pursuit and “When we're dancing” the sweet surrender and conquest. The afterglow comes in the second ballad, the truly gorgeous “With you”. Why, if they were going to release five singles, did those idiots at Warners not release this or the previous? They surely would have been hits. This is just so beautiful, favourite so far, and that's saying something as I love this album up to this, and see no reason why I won't love the rest. Well, I love “Bambi”, which despite its cutesy title is anything but: it's a dirty, lowdown, sleazy rocker where Prince breaks out the guitar and the growl he would often use. This man was so versatile. Speaking of versatile, a semi-country song next? “Still waiting” sounds a little like The Eagles or Bob Seger, with a lovely yearning croon from His Princeness. Is that harmonica? Again displaying stunning lack of foresight, the big W failed to release “I feel for you”, which was of course a massive hit for Chaka Khan five years later. Oh yes, it's easy to be clever with hindsight. Fun, too. :) Adnittedly his original version is a little less punchy than hers, but hey, at least he won the Grammy for songwriter, even if he didn't score with the single as a musician himself, and he got his voice on her version too. What a difference five years makes, eh? And a superb smoking ballad to end, though it's not a sugary, digital piano effort but instead has real teeth, with a biting edge and a dark warning in the title. Thick heavy bass and sludgy synth adds to the sense of darkness and brooding about it, then the falsetto vocal at the end amps everything up to ten. Superb ending to another superb album. Just superb. Have I said superb? Well, it is. Superb, that is. Superb. Track listing and ratings I wanna be your lover Why you wanna treat me so bad Sexy dancer When we're dancing close and slow With you (If there was a rating higher I could go, this would earn it!) Bambi Still waiting I feel for you It's gonna be lonely Afterword: For a debut album, For You pretty much blew it out of the water, but this second album blows it out of the stars. Not a single bad song, and some absolute corkers. Again, surprising me (though not that much this time round, as I had already been floored by the debut) with its maturity, musicianship and songwriting, Prince is the second of the holy trinity (or perhaps that should read Unholy trinity!) which led up to what many believe is his best album, even if it wasn't as successful as his later releases. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
Great review agree with it all.
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Album title: Dirty Mind Artiste: Prince Genre: Funk/Soul/Pop Year: 1980 Label: Warner Bros Producer: Prince Chronological position: Third album Notes: Album chart position: 45 (US) 61 (UK) Singles: “Uptown”, “Dirty mind”, “Do it all night” Lineup: Prince: Everything except Lisa Coleman – Vocals on “Head” Doctor Fink – Synth on “Head” and “Dirty mind” The album that suddenly revealed Prince as the steamy, erotic, downright filthy poet of the nation's – the world's – desires, both forbidden and dreamed, and which began to redraw the parameters that had already been assigned to him, stretch and flex and burst right out of that box with a triumphant gasp and the squeal of the sexual release of a thousand young women, spraying talent, dripping sticky music and oozing creamy lyrics down the sides of his .. well, you get the idea. If this had been released five years later it would have been plastered with Parental Advisory stickers, and probably burned in ceremonial denouncements of its filth, lewdness and pornography disguised as pop music. Sound like your scene? Enter, if ye dare... Review begins Thumping bass and thrumming synth opens the title track, with a real pop sensibility in the keys, very AOR meets new wave, the vocal sort of buried at first though it rises slowly through the music. Despite the title it's not really that, well, dirty; in fact, it sounds pretty ordinary, and the new wave idea continues in “When you were mine”, with a sort of Springsteen/Mellencamp flavour in the guitar riff. So far I'm not as impressed as I was with the first two albums, I must say. “Do it all night” takes things back to funk, but again I don't see a whole lot to be excited about. A sort of soul half-ballad for “Gotta broken heart again” which, to be completely fair, sounds like something Michael Jackson would even reject. I'm amazed, but this is poor. A fast uptempo funker then for “Uptown”, but man is it boring! The big one then is “Head”, and this is apparently where Prince starts annoying the Concerned Parents of American or whomever with his slutty, filthy lyrics, and about fucking time too. Lyricwise, yes, I can see it, but musicwise it's just another relatively boring funk/disco tune with a lot of handclaps. Where are those searing guitars that peppered the first two albums? Where's the piano? Yawn. “Sister” has too much rockabilly nonsense in it for my liking. Again, controversial lyric but pretty staid song, real disappointment. At least there are guitars in this. “Partyup” is a kind of okay disco song but nothing like anything on either of the first two albums. Interesting anti-war message at the end. About the only thing about this track that is interesting. Track listing and ratings Dirty mind When you were mine Do it all night Gotta broken heart again Uptown Head Sister Partyup Afterword: Considering what I read about it, and that the late great Urban declared this Prince's best album, I'm disappointed to a factor of infinity. I much prefer the two other albums. Maybe Prince was trying too hard to have hit singles and not concentrating enough on writing good songs. I guess I'm a lone voice in the wilderness, as everyone else seems to love this album, and my introductory paragraph is kind of irrelevant now, but I was hugely let down by this. Expectations high, result really really low. Boo. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/halfhphone.gif |
Wow I love at least four tracks on this. But Sister is ****ing disgusting I wish it was an instrumental or about something else the dirty swine.
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Album title: Controversy Artiste: Prince Genre: Pop/funk/new wave Year: 1981 Label: Warner Bros Producer: Prince Chronological position: Fourth album Notes: Album chart position: 21 (US) Singles: “Controversy”, “Let's work”, “Do me baby”, “Sexuality” Lineup: Prince: Everything (with assistance on one or two tracks from Lisa Coleman, Doctor Fink and Bobby Z) After a brief and steamy bromance, I'm now treading much more carefully as the first hot flushes of love fade and cooler heads prevail. With the honeymoon period of the first two albums over, my disappointment with Dirty Mind was total, so I'm hedging my bets much more with this one, though it does lead up to some stellar releases and presages Prince at the height of his power and fame, so maybe it will be a big improvement. We'll see. Review begins Continuing the synthesised funk that would somewhat become Prince's trademark, the title track opens and it's, for Prince, a monster seven-minuter kicking off this album, and there is plenty of guitar I'm glad to hear, though the lyric seems a little weak. Mind you, kicking the Catholic Church in the nuts is a move always guaranteed to score points with me, and his intonation of the Lord's Prayer in an deep, almost gravelly voice is good to hear. Other than that, it's a little, well, a lot repetitive. I would say he's running out of ideas but as I outlined in the intro, this is just before he really hit the big time, and we all know how big he got, so let's give him a chance and see what he can show us on this album. “Controversy” is definitely way too long though. Interesting rap there near the end. Not bad. “Sexuality” (getting a little literal with the titles there, O Purple One!) is a faster bass-driven romp, with the falsetto vocal clearly on form. Nice piano work, reminds me of Bowie on Let's Dance. Maybe.Sort of a spoken word piece (not a rap this time) with some fine funky guitar. Really nice soul ballad then in “Do me, baby” (um) with those great multi-tracked backing vocals he used on the first two albums, nice electric piano, Prince really pushing his vocals to their incredible limit here, again sounding like a whole backing section. Superb, and it's been a while since I said that of a Prince song. Feels good. More a kind of disco meets new wave feel about “Private joy”, very uptempo and bouncy. Great guitar solo; this song is a lot of fun. Speaking of controversy, Prince gets political next, in “Ronnie, talk to Russia”, and it's just a madcap fun romp like something out of a musical or something, with wild frenetic keyboards, searing guitar and the kind of beat that just makes you want to body-pop or headbang. Simple, but simply fun. The faux gunshots are hilarious. Sounds a bit Kool and the Gang then for “Let's work”, bit of a throwaway track really, while he's back sniping at religion for “Annie Christian”, interesting idea in a sort of low-key musical backing with a sort of shouted vocal, kind of metallic pushed to the foreground. I guess there's a play on words where Annie could be any, so he could be saying “any Christian”. Interesting. Controversial, certainly. Different without a doubt. The handclaps almost recall gospel music, which is kind of ironic, perhaps intentionally so. And we end on “Jack U off”, where Prince goes all rockabilly again with a whistling keyboard leading the line, kind of a play on the likes of Grease. Interesting, but ultimately a little of damp squib as a closer I feel. Track listing and ratings Controversy Sexuality Do me baby Private joy Ronnie, talk to Russia Let's work Annie Christian Jack U off Afterword: A whole lot better than the previous album, while this has not exactly rekindled the love affair I began with Prince on the first two albums (and which continued through 1999 and subsequent albums) it has helped me rediscover my faith in the guy, and hope that, again despite what everyone else seems to think about it, Dirty Mind was an unsightly blip on an otherwise spotless career. As was once said by Chris Barrie, “Lovely, my loves: we're back on track!” Mind you, still no big hit singles, but like Prince himself most of the time, they were coming... Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
Good stuff again mate.
Would you say I Wanna Be Your Lover wasn't a hit single then? Cos it was what top 10 in the US which is pretty big imo. I saw an interview from that era as well where he was on some show and was so shy it was adorable. Anyway I loved this album at first but as time has gone on it's slipped further down the Prince pecking order and wouldn't get into my top 3 now. But the title track is insane and probably top 5/10 for me, the melody, funkiness of it, the lyrics and structure are all top notch. They are simple lyrics but they just hit the nail on the head. It never fails to make me bop my head and do a little dance. Great track. Can't wait for the next post, I think it will be a belter :cool: |
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Album title: 1999 Artiste: Prince Genre: Funk/Pop/Rock/New wave Year: 1999 (nah, kidding: 1982) Label: Warner Bros Producer: Prince Chronological position: Fifth album Notes: Album chart position: 9/200 (US) 30/28 (UK) (wtf?? I guess every Prince fan had it by the time he passed) Singles: “1999”, “Little red Corvette”, “Delirious”, “DMSR”, “Let's pretend we're married”, “Automatic” Lineup: Prince: Everything (with assistance on vocals from Dez Dickerson, Lisa Coleman, Jill Jones, Vanity and Wendy Malvoin) Ah, here we go! The one that made Prince, the big breakthrough album which introduced those of us who were saying “Prince who?” to this musical genius. This would kick off a period of about ten years during which Prince would bestride not just the charts but the music scene like a colossus, reinventing himself, and music, setting trends, breaking boundaries, and basically giving the finger to anyone who dared say to him “But you can't do that!” He also managed to have the first video on heavy rotation with MTV, who a few years ago refused to play Michael Jackson's “Billie Jean” because, well, he's black, y'know? Review begins Surely everyone knows the title track, and if you don't, to borrow from the Batlord book of wisdom, fuck you, you should. Even I've heard it. Interesting though how it starts with a really slowed down speech sample before it kicks in, and it's also a great example of Prince using his multiple vocal tones, to the point where when I heard this the first time I assumed that was someone else singing the first line. Oh wait: I see they were. First time I see Prince sharing vocals other than that one track with Lisa Coleman. Just as big a hit, “Little red Corvette” is a little more restrained (just a little) but keeps the energy high, and again I can see Warners were falling over themselves to get as many singles off this as they could: six in all. Mind you, it is a double album, but even so, there are only a total of eleven tracks on it, so really only three extra compared to his other efforts. Greedy bastards. Naturally, the album versions of both songs are much longer than the single releases, maybe a little overextended, maybe not. Anyway, yet another single, “Delirious”, kicks back in Prince's love of one of my least favourite genres, rockabilly, but it's decent fun with squeaky keyboards and some nice almost honky-tonk piano. Amd yet another single. You know guys, sometimes it's a mistake to release too many singles: people may not bother with the album. “Let's pretend we're married” kind of carries on the idea of the melody in the previous track. Not quite as rockabilly, more a new wave edge to it but quite similar I feel. It is very catchy though. Total funk then a la Herbie Hancock with “DMSR”, touches of Janet Jackson in there too, a real party anthem, like much of this album. Let's be honest: even though the title track is ostensibly a warning about nuclear war it's a real dance theme, and most people probably shook their booties down to the ground to it without worrying too much about the political lyric. “Automatic” starts off with the basic beat of “Little red Corvette”, and I don't know if it's something wrong with my Spotify here or what, but the volume seems to drop seriously here. Steamy BDSM lyric for sure, with a funky new-eave melody, and it's actually the longest track on the album at over nine and a half minutes. Sorry, but by six minutes it's gone on long enough (with not a lot of variation even in that) and we have three more to go? Pointlessly overlong. Can we even get a smokin' guitar solo into that three minutes? No? Boo. Yeah that was quite a trial to get through, I must admit. Bit of Kraftwerkesque whatever-the-fuck-they-play (new wave?) in “Something in the water (does not compute)” and it kind of doesn't, with an Invisible Touch-era Genesis sound (yeah yeah I know this was four years before that album) but at least some powerful vocal histrionics from the Purple One. Doesn't do a lot for me though. At least it's short. Like him. Sorry. Up next is “Free”, which opens with the sound of rain (I think) and footsteps walking quickly, then a simple piano line with a kind of Beatles or even Bread feel to it, possibly a ballad? Well, sort of: more a power anthem for togetherness and equality though. Good song, powerful solo and a great vocal performance from Prince and what sounds like a choir, though none is credited. More sound effects to open “Lady cab driver”, unsurprisingly the sound of traffic and Prince hailing a cab, then it's a kind of low-key funk but again we're looking at eight minutes, and I must be honest that the longer tracks are beginning to wear on me. I mean, this is eleven tracks totalling seventy minutes. That's a lot. Feels a little jazzy in ways, so no, not one of my favourites, and the sexy noises don't really make me like it anymore. At this point, I feel Prince is in danger of becoming a walking cliche, hence, perhaps, the change of direction for the next album. This, too, could end at the fifth minute easily, but it's dragged gasping and panting on for another three. Seems almost cruel. At least we get a decent guitar solo this time out. That leaves us with “All the critics love U in New York”, with what I feel is a very Robert Palmer sound to it, again quite low key with spicy keyboards, a spoken vocal for much of it, and pretty boring too for most of it. Ends well though on a great soul ballad for “International lover”, back to the Prince of the first two albums. If only more of it was like this. Track listing and ratings 1999 Little red Corvette Delirious Let's pretend we're married DMSR Automatic Something in the water (does not compute) Free Lady cab driver All the critics love U in New York International lover Afterword: Given how well known this album is, and how successful it was, I'm kind of disappointed. I do find, with the admittedly limited experience I have of Prince to this point, that many of his albums tend to have a lot of filler on them. Even Purple Rain has tracks I don't like, and this, while it has some great stuff on it, suffers from some very weak tracks too. I reckon had he cut it down to a single album and shortened some of the tracks by two or three minutes it could have been a real killer. As it is, it just kind of mugged me but I can make it to the nearest cop shop to report the assault. Shoulda finished me off, Prince! Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: Purple Rain Artiste: Prince (and The Revolution) Genre: Pop/Rock/Funk Year: 1984 Label: Warner Bros Producer: Prince Chronological position: Sixth album Notes: Album chart position: 1 (US) 7 (UK) Singles: “Let's go crazy”, “When doves cry”, “I would die 4 U”, “Take me with U”, “Purple Rain” Lineup: Prince – lead vocals, background vocals and various instruments Wendy Melvoin – guitar and vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9) Lisa Coleman – keyboards and vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9) Matt Fink – keyboards (1, 2, 7, 8, 9) Brown Mark – bass (1, 2, 7, 8, 9) Bobby Z. – drums and percussion (1, 2, 7, 8, 9) Novi Novog – violin and viola (2, 8, 9) David Coleman – cello (2, 8, 9) Suzie Katayama – cello (2, 8, 9) Apollonia – co-lead vocals (2) Jill Jones – background vocals (2 Review begins http://www.musicbanter.com/members-j...ml#post1272396 (Note: this was written in 2013, so any references to Prince in the present tense, you know, work it out. Track listing and ratings Let's go crazy Take me with you The beautiful ones Computer blue Darling Nikki When doves cry I would die 4 U Baby I'm a star Purple rain Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/halfhphone.gif |
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Album title: The Kick Inside Artiste: Kate Bush Genre: Art pop Year: 1978 Label: EMI Producer: Andrew Powell Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: 3 (UK) Singles: “Wuthering Heights”. “Moving”, “Them heavy people”, “The man with the child in his eyes”, “Strange phenomena” Lineup: Kate Bush - songwriter,composer,piano,keyboards, vocals, background vocals Ian Bairnson- guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), background vocals (9), beer bottles (12) Paul Keogh - guitar (2) Alan Parker- guitar (2) Paddy Bush-mandolin(9), vocals (11) Duncan Mackay-organ(4, 6, 7),synthesizer(3), electric piano (1, 10),clavinet(4) Andrew Powell- synthesizer (9), keyboards (2), bass (6), electric piano (3),celesta(6), beer bottles (12), producer Alan Skidmore-saxophone*(2) David Paton- bass (1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (6, 9), background vocals (9) Bruce Lynch- bass (2) Barry DeSouza -drums(2) Stuart Elliott- drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), percussion (9, 12) Morris Pert-percussion(3, 4, 6),boobam(12) From the first moment her high-pitched, almost unintelligible voice was heard on her first ever hit single, “Wuthering Heights”, Kate Bush was someone you took notice of. Not a rock chick, not a pop diva, she was and is and always has been and probably always will be a force of nature, a law unto herself, an innovator, an experimenter, almost more soul than body and certainly unique. Few artistes can boast of having, not only a hit, but a number one hit, with their very first album, but Kate rocketed into the British consciousness with the release of the sixth track on this, her debut album, and would go on to have hit after hit throughout the seventies and eighties, though she would not always be in the public eye. Indeed, after a while, a concert by Kate Bush was a rare, nay freak occurrence. My own experience of Kate is limited mostly to her greatest hits collection, The Whole Story, the singles I've seen or heard her perform during my youth and three albums: Aerial, The Hounds of Love and 50 Words For Snow, so this will be something of an education for me, but I already like much of her music so hopefully I'll get to like more. Review begins “Moving” opens the album with wolf howls (oh: it says here it's whalesong. All right then) and orchestral strings before the piano comes in just before her voice, that almost indefinable vocal – there are few if any who can sing like Kate – and a very full sound on the piano. There are quite a few alumni from the Alan Parsons Project here – David Paton, Ian Bairnson, Stuart Elliott – so there's a certain APP melody pervading the tune here. It seems to flow almost seamlessly into “The saxophone song”, which unsurprisingly has some fine work on the horn from Alan Skidmore and again some bright piano from Kate peppered with synthesiser lines from Duncan MacCay, and spooky piano then leads in the appropriately-titled “Strange phenomena”, but again I can't shake the APP influences here, almost as if the boys are guiding her music along. Her voice certainly takes centre stage here though and there are foreshadows of the later hit “Wuthering Heights” in some of the piano riffs. Like Prince, on whom we concentrated earlier, Kate has the ability to reach very high notes or drop her voice down to a low moan, very versatile, the latter at times almost making her sound like a man singing. “Kite” is the first really uptempo song, quite pop and a lot of fun, bouncing along on Kate's almost childlike vocal, with carnival-style synths and backing vocals added by Kate herself, but like Prince, they sound as if someone else is singing. Considering that the Alan Parsons Project's Pyramid came out only four months later, I do find myself wondering if the guys took a few musical ideas from this song for “Pyramania”, but the next song is pure Kate, one of her big singles, “The man with the child in his eyes” survives almost completely on her aching vocal and piano, with gorgeous violin really setting the mood. The piano in the bridge almost seems to float in mid-air, lending the music the idea of being the next best thing to totally ethereal. The big hit single is of course “Wuthering Heights”, based on the novel by Emily Bronte, and if you don't know it then you should. It's a superb piano-driven love song from a lost soul, and instantly established Kate as a major talent and one to watch. Honky-tonk piano then kicks off “James and the cold gun”, and again it's hard to ignore the APP melody here – sounds like much of The Turn of a Friendly Card, especially “The gold bug”. It's an uptempo rocker with a great organ line from Mackay driving it and hard guitar. Piano then continues as we head into “Feel it.” I must admit, I can see why Kate's voice is not for everyone: it can be quite grating at times, almost like a little girl singing. But I love her. This is pretty much a ballad, as is “Oh to be in love”, with a slightly faster pace but not much. Sort of a country feel to this in ways. Nice bassline, though the chorus is cringeworthy. Oh dear. That was pretty poor. At least “L'amour looks something like you” makes up for it; yet another ballad, again a Country edge to it, but much much better than the previous. Well, that wouldn't be hard, would it? There's a reggae twist to “Them heavy people”, another single, though it didn't do as well as the other two, and I can see why. It's never been one of my favourites either., and not just because of the terrible misuse of grammar. Decent enough but a little throwaway and I can't understand why they decided to release it as a single. Oh well. Sort of back to the ballads then for “Room for the life”, with some really nice gentle percussion (congas? Bongos?) but again it doesn't do a whole lot for me, and the album ends on the title track, which is, yes, another ballad but a much better one, again piano-led, but softer and kind of echoes “The man with the child in his eyes” to an extent, and features the return of the violins, which kind of makes the comparison even more valid. Decent closer though. Track listing and ratings Moving The saxophone song Strange phenomena Kite The man with the child in his eyes Wuthering Heights James and the cold gun Feel it Oh to be in love L'amour looks something like you Them heavy people Room for the life The kick inside Afterword: I couldn't honestly say I was knocked out by this album. Had I not heard the singles already, then maybe yeah, but the tracks around them, while they're generally very good, don't make me step back and say “Holy fuck!” as I did with Prince's debut. I know how good Kate got, so I know this is not her best album, and as a debut it's very solid, but really only that. It's a good start but there's a way to go yet. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
Yeah, Oh to be in Love isn't her strongest song. It's a real shame, as there is an early demo of it floating around that is fantastic, even in spite of the tape itself being of rough audio quality. There's just something so sad and moving about it that was almost completely lost in the official version.
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Album title: Lionheart Artiste: Kate Bush Genre: Art rock/Pop Year: 1978 Label: EMI Producer: Andrew Powell Chronological position: Second album Notes: Album chart position: 6 (UK) Singles: “Hammer horror”, “Wow” Lineup: Kate Bush - vocals, harmony vocals, piano, keyboards, recorder Ian Bairnson - acoustic, rhythm & electric guitar (1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10) Brian Bath - guitar (3) Paddy Bush - mandolin (3), harmony vocals (4, 5, 8), pan flute (8), slide guitar(4), mandocello(8) Richard Harvey - recorder (5) Duncan Mackay - synthesizer (9, 10), Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 4) Francis Monkman - harpsichord (4, 5), Hammond organ (6) Del Palmer - bass (3, 8, 10) David Paton - bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 9) Stuart Elliot - drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10), percussion (8, 9) Charlie Morgan - drums (3, 8) Andrew Powell - joanna (8), harmonium (10) Like record labels the world over, EMI emulated Warner Bros with Prince around the same time across the water, demanding Kate release another album in a hurry, the same year in fact as her debut. Kate does not like to be rushed, having her own organic way of working, but the suits had spoken, and though she already had a number one single this did not guarantee longevity – we're all aware of the one-hit-wonder syndrome – so she had to take a bunch of songs she had composed when she was as young as thirteen, add a few new ones, and the followup to The Kick Inside was ready to hit the shelves, a mere nine months after it. Talk about having two children in quick succession! Review begins There's a beautiful laidback feel to “Symphony in blue”, though I can still detect right away the influence of the APP guys, some very familiar guitar licks there from Bairnson. I feel it's a better opener than on the debut though, and it kicks up quickly enough with a lot of power and passion, some great guitar work from the Project man and some really nice touches on the keyboards, that kind of ethereal flavour that characterised much of the first album leaking through again. “In search of Peter Pan” nods back to the big hit single from the debut, driven on the piano for the most part but that APP sound comes sliding back in. Nice children's choir (none credited, unless the voices are hers?) with a very sort of flowing, rippling melody, kind of like a river slowly meandering along. She even uses a sample (well, not a sample: it's her singing it) of “When you wish upon a star”, which is perhaps odd, as that song belongs in Disney's Pinocchio not Peter Pan. The big hit single this time is “Wow”, which I assume most of you reading know, and if you don't, well it's a great vehicle for the power of Kate's voice, where at times she dips from soprano to baritone, just showing how versatile her pipes are. Well, EMI wanted a hit single, and they got it. You can see why. There's a certain punch and a rise in tempo and energy for “Don't push your foot on the heartbrake”, probably the first time you can say Kate really rocks out so far on this album., then the song which gives the album its name (though it's not a title track; there isn't one) brings in soft violin and flute as “Oh England my lionheart” rides along on a soft piano line with some great vocal work from Kate. There's somehow a very medieval feel to this, then “Fullhouse” reminds me of James Taylor and The Carpenters for some reason, got a soul vibe to it too, quite strong and punchy, but I have to admit it doesn't really do it for me. I feel I've heard “In the warm room” before? Wonder if it was re-released on some other album? Let's see. No. Must have been thinking of “A coral room” on Aerial. Nice ballad, real croon by Kate on this one and pretty much entirely on the piano so a real showcase for her talents. Hmm, seems like it slipped into “Kashka from Baghdad” without my realising. I don't think that can be taken as particularly good. I do like the sort of discordant piano she uses here though. “Coffee homeground” has a sort of twenties jazz feel to it, with what sounds like an accordion leading the line in a weird little tango, reminds me oddly enough of Dracula's Musical Cabinet from The Vampires of Dartmoore. And that leaves us with “Hammer horror”, the first single released from the album originally, which was pretty unsuccessful. Big cinematic/operatic build up leads into a soft gentle vocal from Kate, the tempo picking up as the orchestra comes in, but given the subject matter the song comes across as too much of a pastiche, which might explain its failure to chart. Track listing and ratings Symphony in blue In search of Peter Pan Wow Don't push your foot on the heartbrake Oh England my lionheart Fullhouse In the warm room Kashka from Baghdad Coffee homeground Hammer horror Afterword: Though I certainly don't hate these albums, I'm still waiting for, to quote Kate herself, the wow factor. I've enjoyed the debut and this album, but I can't see very much in them (other than the singles, which I already knew) that would make me want to come back to them any time soon. There haven't been any incredible revelations, I haven't slapped myself upside the head and said “How have I gone so long without listening to this?” and my impression of her music so far, though it's impressive for a girl at such a tender age, is decidedly lukewarm. I'm not sure I can even remember any track on either album – again, other than the singles – and certainly will not be humming anything afterwards. But there's a way to go yet, so she might still impress me. On we go. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: Never for Ever Artiste: Kate Bush Genre: Art Rock/Pop Year: 1980 Label: EMI Producer: Kate Bush, Jon Kelly Chronological position: Third album Notes: Album chart position: 1 (UK) Singles: “Babooshka”, “Army dreamers”, “Breathing” (Note: I'm discontinuing the “Lineup” category from now, putting it in only on the first album or if there are major changes along the way. Some of the personnel lists are ridiculously huge) Kate's first album to hit number one (only in the UK though: she was still pretty much unknown in the USA), this was also the first album she produced herself (although with help), something that would continue through all her albums to date as she took more control over her music. It features three hit singles, two of which cracked the top twenty (again, only in the UK) and one of which went to number five, her biggest success since “Wuthering Heights”. Review begins A dark piano opens up “Babooshka”, one of the hit singles, the one that went to number five, and it features a bewitching performance from Kate on vocals, with some pretty hard guitar and a great driving rhythm in a kind of folk style at time, fretless bass provided by John Giblin. The song is the tale of a woman trying to test her husband's fidelity by presenting herself in disguise to him as a rival for her affections, through letters. I suppose, to some degree, similar in theme to Rupert Holmes's “Escape”. The song features the sound of what sounds like glass breaking, perhaps meant to symbolise either the woman's breaking heart as she realises, as the husband falls for “the other woman”, that she has outmanoeuvred herself, or her hurling crockery and things in a temper. Oddly, Kate revealed that at the time she wrote the song she didn't realise that the word was a Russian term for a grandmother. A similar percussive line to “In the air tonight” gets “Delius” underway, with what I think is the first male vocal on a Kate Bush album – I don't know if it ended up being the last one. Certainly she did not use male voices much, if at all, in her music. The tune itself is a nice kind of soft rippling thing, again driven on bright piano but with the vocals at times almost snarled by the male voice, which belongs to none other than Ian Bairnson, the guitarist from the Alan Parsons Project who has at this point been on both of her albums. Here though he only provides the vocals on this track, guitar duties being taken by Brian Bath and Alan Murphy. “Blow away” is a sort of prayer for one of her engineers who died in an accident, and has an almost gospel chorus with some lovely orchestral arrangements, quite sad but almost celebratory in its own way, while whistling flute and violin complement the piano on “All we ever look for” with a kind of pizzicato rhythm, more male backing vocals, this time from Gary Hurst and Andrew Bryant, and the song ends on a rather odd effect of what sounds like Kate walking out of the room in which the music is playing (it fades down as she closes the door) and a whistle. Odd little song, can't say I like it all that much. “Egypt” then has a suitably eastern melody, though it sounds like there are uileann pipes in there, and rather oddly a piano run which sounds eerily similar to later Deacon Blue hit “Real gone kid”! A much more uptempo and forceful affair, “The wedding list” has some fine violin and I think harmonica, with Kate almost channelling Lene Lovich at times (!) and the song sounds like it may be a tale of revenge (I'm pretty sure she mentioned it in the lyric, but I'm too lazy/busy to look it up), with again some really nice work from the Martyn Ford Orchestra. I had, I admit, expected “Violin” to be an atmospheric ballad on, well, violin, but it turns out to be Kate's attempt to move on from Lovich and on to Sioxsie Sioux! Totally madcap and full of energy, giving the guitarists a chance to rock out, even rack off a solo, but I'm not that fond of it. “The infant kiss” is another nice ballad with a sort of lullabye feel to it, some of the piano a little discordant, and violin coming in here too, very effective, while “Night scented stock” is barely a minute long, leading into “Army dreamers”, a waltz rhythm defining one of her other hit singles and again featuring male backing vocals. I always feel that Kate sounds totally Irish on this; maybe it's the accent she uses, I don't know. The final single, “Breathing”, displays Kate's amazing creativity and versatility in terms of subject matter, as she takes on the persona of an unborn foetus, worrying about the world it is going to be born into. The longest track on the album, it's accompanied by dramatic piano and mournful violin and has a dark, apocalyptic feel to it, perhaps an odd one to end the album on, an even odder choice for a single, but a great song and one that showed Kate was serious about her music. Track listing and ratings Babooshka Delius Blow away All we ever look for Egypt The wedding list Violin The infant kiss Night scented stock Army dreamers Breathing Afterword: I'd say a definite step forward for Kate, compared to her last two albums. Still not blowing me away, but some really powerful material here and a marker for how much of a force she was going to become in music, and what an icon she would represent for women trying to make it in what was still very much a man's world. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: The Dreaming Artiste: Kate Bush Genre: Art rock, Pop Year: 1982 Label: EMI Producer: Kate Bush Chronological position: Fourth album Notes: First of her albums to chart within the US Album chart position: 3 (UK) 157 (US) Singles: “Sat in your lap”, “There goes a tenner”, “Night of the swallow”, “Suspended in gaffa” As would become her trademark, Kate threw all the success of Never for Ever to one side and concentrated on making her fourth album as different as possible. As a result, though this also went high in the charts in the UK – and for the first time moved the US audience to put their hands in their pockets – only one of the five singles from it would be a hit, and her next album would take another three years to complete, this time recorded in her own purpose-built studio. This is believed to be her most experimental album. Lucky me. :rolleyes: Review begins With the kind of tribal percussion that would characterise Peter Gabriel's albums in the eighties, “Sat in your lap” kicks things off, and was in fact the one successful single from the album, hitting the number eleven spot. There are plenty of samples in it, different vocal elements and sounds used, orchestral hits and loops. It's probably best remembered though for the “Ooh-ooh!” hits that finish every line, very distinctive. She uses a very cockney accent on “There goes a tenner”, with brass and bouncing percussion, fretless bass is very much in evidence on “Pull out the pin”, again utilising male backing vocals, the familiar effect of helicopter blades and a screeched, almost wounded vocal from Kate. Sounds like samples of the melody from “Babooshka” being used there. Not convinced about that one, now. “Suspended in gaffa” has a bouncy piano line and a sort of sing-song vocal (if that makes sense) with some nice organ work and thumping, Beatlesesque drums. She's back to copying Siouxsie for “Leave it open”, a slower, marching, kind of threatening in a way track, with phased vocals and something like kids singing distantly in the background, then again we're very much in Gabriel territory for the title track, the rhythm of which sounds really similar to his “The rhythm of the heat”, though I think that was two years later? No: same year. Bloody Hell! Released seven days before this! Can that be coincidence? Very tribal sound anyway, not surprising as it's about the plight of the Australian Aborigines. Features Rolf Harris on didgeridoo. No crude jokes please. The Chieftains (well, some of them) and Planxty show up to help on “Night of the swallow”, a slower moody tale of a smuggler and his wife. The song has, you'll be unsurprised to hear, a very Celtic feel, with uileann pipes, whistles, fiddles and bagpipes. More fretless bass on “All the love”, a nice ballad, though there's not much more to say about it other than that, apart from the spoken samples (on the telephone?) near the end, all of which apper to be saying goodbye. The ballad style continues into “Houdini” (any guesses who that's about?) which also reflects the cover art of the album, but it fails to work any magic on me. Good croaking vocal from Kate, yes, and some lovely violin, but again I don't see this remaining in my head for long after the album is over. And speaking of being over, it closes with “Get out of my house”, based around The Shining, and which has a quite rock feel about it and features a return to her Lovich personality. The percussion here is very good, and the title screamed by Kate is very effective, the clanging guitar chords reminding me of early Police, but overall I'm kind of relieved to be finished this, and leave her with her weird house. Track listing and ratings Sat in your lap There goes a tenner Pull out the pin Suspended in gaffa Leave it open The Dreaming Night of the swallow All the love Houdini Get out of my house Afterword: Well, when I saw that it was her experimental album I expected to struggle with it, and I did. There are good tracks on it, sure, but as an attempt to provide me with a Kate album I can point to and say “I really like that” it really has not done the job, but then I never expected it to. The next one I do know, so the review will be a lot kinder. This one I can't see myself coming back to. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/halfhphone.gif |
Agree with a lot of this.
HOL will be a 4.5 imo. |
Hey Trollheart, I can't help but feel like you may be rushing through these songs. For example, it's odd how all you had to say about The Infant Kiss and The Kick Inside was that they were "nice ballads", when the first is very clearly about a woman who feels the urge to rape her infant son, and the second is about a woman who kills herself after being impregnated by her brother. They're probably Kate's darkest and most haunting songs, but I feel like you were so busy comparing her to other female musicians that you completely missed the point and the power of the way she approaches each song.
Saying that a female musician is channeling Lene Lovich simply because she screams during an emotional song, or that she's copying Siouxsie Sioux because she can be moody and gothic, is not only doing a great disservice to her and her music, but is also an oversimplification that shows a fundamental lack of understanding of each of those musicians. That being said, I'm still enjoying each of your reviews. Believe it or not, I actually had less of an opinion than you did of the albums you've reviewed so far. It took quite awhile for them to grow on me. |
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OK, well let's put this in context. I currently have in excess of seventy discographies to be reviewed. That's not seventy albums, it's seventy full discographies. You could be talking in the region of anywhere from 300 to over 700 plus albums. My choice, yes, but that's a whole hell of a lot of work. I'm trying to get through them at some sort of pace - not rush them, but I certainly don't have the time to go through each track on every album in depth. You'll note I made no reference to the incestuous nature of Prince's "Sister" or even the deeper meanings behind "Automatic". The point is that I have to give here an overall view of the album as a whole, and move on to the next. I don't have the time or the desire to delve deeply into lyrics and meanings.
Apart from that, up until Hounds of Love I find it very hard to even understand what Kate is singing, so making out lyrics is not easy. I could pull up lyric sheets, but as I said, I just want to give an overall sense of the album, and for me, a brief description will do. I don't know the history behind her music, so this is the best I can do with the time I've got. If that's not good enough for you, well all I can do is suggest you take on even one discography and see how deeply you can get into it. Then multiply the time and effort that took by seventy. Oh, and don't forget my thirty-odd discogs in my prog journal, Game of Thrones, the History of Cartoons and all the other stuff I'm dealing with. I do the best I can but I literally don't have the time to drill down into every song on every album. I understand she's one of your favourite artistes, and those with favourites whom I feature here may feel similarly short-changed at my treatment of them, but then again, consider those who are not interested in, say, Kate Bush and are waiting for, say Death Grips. And then, consider too that they may believe my reviews of that artiste insufficient. So I just do the best I can, but while I would like to of course go more in-depth into her (ooer! Wouldn't we all?) I simply don't have that luxury, and so this is how it has to be. tl;dr Sorry I don't have time and can only give a sense of each song on each album, then move on. That's how I'm doing this. |
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Album title: Hounds of Love Artiste: Kate Bush Genre: Art rock/Pop Year: 1985 Label: EMI Producer: Kate Bush Chronological position: Fifth album Notes: Album chart position: 1 (UK) 30 (US) Singles: “Running up that hill”, “Hounds of love”, “Cloudbusting”, “The big sky” After taking some time out to just be her, time away from records and songs and studios, Kate returned in 1985 with an album that would blow her previous effort out of the water and forever establish her as not only a unique artiste, but a consistently successful one. Seen almost as a comeback effort, given the poor performance of The Dreaming (though it reached number 3 it can be accepted that this was largely purchases made on the expectation of an album similar to Never for Ever, and the failure of its singles reflect that) and the length of time it took to record and release, Hounds of Love is for many people their favourite Kate Bush album, and it's certainly the one with the most big hit singles on it. More importantly though, it shows her using her creative talents, rather than in a confusing mix of styles and ideas as on The Dreaming, to here fashion not only a superb album but one which had a whole concept suite as part of it. Review begins It's almost certain that everyone has at least heard “Running up that hill”, as it was a number three hit for her, and covered by various other artistes, and it rides on trundling percussion with for once a much more reserved and understandable vocal from Kate. I often found, on the previous albums, that it was hard to even make out what she was singing, such were her vocal histrionics, but here she has developed perhaps a more radio-friendly voice where you can easily understand what she's singing. Originally called “A deal with God”, Kate was forced to change the title for the single release, as she was advised by label executives that religious countries would not take kindly to the original title and would not allow it to be played, so it became the subtitle of the album version. The title track opens with a spoken line from the movie Night of the Demon - “It's in the trees! It's coming!” and then rolls in on kind of tribal percussion with a “Ooh ooh ooh ooh!” that kind of reminds me of The Buggles. Yeah. Another hit single, it continues the quality of the album with some fine synth and, interestingly, much less (indeed, here, none) of the piano that has been so prevalent in her albums up to now. As indeed does “The big sky”, which rolls along on a bright, almost African beat, and certainly gives you the idea of expansive space and freedom, with a really powerful chorus at the end, while “Mother stands for comfort” again has breaking glass sound effects in it for some reason, and slick fretless bass, then “Cloudbusting” is the last track I knew before I began this review* and its orchestral arrangement is fantastic, the backing vocals excellent, and the main vocal perfect. Oh, and the choral vocal chorus at the end ... perfect. That brings us on to what was side two, and the beginning of the suite, which goes under the umbrella title of “The Ninth Wave”, and is split up into seven parts. It apparently is based around the idea of someone who (for reasons undisclosed) has to spend a night in the sea, waiting to be rescued, and the thoughts that go through their head as they fight to remain alive. We get the return of her faithful piano for the first part, “And dream of sheep”, a really nice fragile ballad , and you can hear the whistles coming in there near the end. More dramatic then is “Under ice”, with some very sharp and dramatic violin, slow too, but darker, Kate's vocal almost matching the cadences of the violin. “Waking the witch” features a lot of people saying “Wake up”, then we get a sort of fragmented sample and the beat quickens, and it's very strange; I think there are bell sounds sampled there too, and sped up. Some dark voices which sound like they're coming out of the deepest pit of Hell, very growly and scratchy (backward masking?) with Kate kind of howling above it all and I think a chorus said “Guilty!” Another voice orders “Get out of the water!” and there's the sound of helicopters (perhaps this is the rescue? I'm assuming this person has fallen overboard a ship). Soft tribal drums then bring in “Watching you without me”, with some nice whistling keys and fretless bass, again certainly brings Gabriel to mind, and of course they would work together on his 1986 album, duetting on one of the big hit singles from that, “Don't give up”. Another broken-up sample and we're into “Jig of life”, where the Celtic influences really return, with fiddle and uileann pipe and whistles and all sorts of skiddly-idle. The vocal is almost a constant stream, with very little pause for breath but I hear elements of the basic melody of “Running up that hill” in it. Halfway through it breaks down into a total Irish jig, kind of makes me shudder in remembrance of bleedin' Riverdance! In the last minute it becomes more of a spoken poem, narrated by John Carder Bush (her father?) and into “Hello Earth”, where the piano takes the melody with some powerful percussion coming in too, and strings arrangements as well as what appears to be a choir – oh yes, the Richard Hickox Singers, apparently. They take the song solo for a beautiful and moving acapella in the fourth minute, and we end on the upbeat and optimistic “The morning fog”, as, I assume, the character, having survived the night in the water is about to be rescued and life will go on. Quite punchy, a very bright piano line, and a relatively short song to end the suite, and the album. Track listing and ratings Running up that hill (A deal with God) Hounds of love The big sky Mother stands for comfort Cloudbusting And dream of sheep Under the ice Waking the witch Watching you without me Jig of life Hello Earth The morning fog Afterword: I suppose this would be the one that did it for me, though I have heard it before. Three superb singles, a suite, some great tracks, and not anywhere near as experimental as the previous album. So far, even considering the other two I have heard prior to beginning this discography, this would be my favourite Kate Bush album. I just like the way she sings on it now, that you can understand her; the weird inflections, the high-to-low, the screams, the odd howls, are all, for now, gone, and I can enjoy her singing much better. Yeah, the hounds of love definitely caught up with me on this one, but will they be able to keep their teeth sunk into my heart, or will they open their jaws and let me escape? Well, it would be another four years before the next proper album from Kate (1986 would see the release of her first anthology, The Whole Story, from which I gained much of my appreciation of her music) so this might be an appropriate place to stop and catch my breath before travelling further along this road she has made for herself, and seeing if our feet remain in step, or if our paths are doomed to diverge. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/halfhphone.gif |
Sorry Trollheart, I know you've got a lot on your plate, I was just cranky last night.
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*artists |
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Always wondered why he does that. |
It's not a British thing?
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Actually, I do it because I see the word artists as referring to actual artists, ie painters, and artistes (the French version) sounds better. Also, I like it more. Quote:
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Alright guys, get ready, cos it's comin'... https://img.discogs.com/okFCBNIZFDtV...-3640.jpeg.jpg (along with the rest of their discography) Stay chooned! Start taking bets now on how long I last: you could make a fortune if you play it right! ;) |
I bet he won't make it past Takyon.
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I bet he won't make it past track 3.
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I bet he won't make it past ... oh. Wait.
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i'm betting "it goes, it goes, it goes" turns it off.
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And so it goes...
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You all suck.
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OK, a few disclaimers before we start. Firstly, I know you're all expecting me to hate this. I'm expecting to hate it too, so do me a favour and save the “you don't get it”, “you need to listen more than once” and suchlike comments: I reckon this will be an ordeal, which I'm sure will provide you all some amusement, so unless there is a God and he performs a miracle, I'm unlikely to “get “ this. Deal with it. Secondly, as again you all know my experience of and with hip-hop is totally basic, almost non-existent, so I'm unfamiliar with the proper terms used to review a hip-hop album – I understand beats, flow and rhythm, but other than that, probably very little, so please let me review this in my own usual style. Oh yeah, and samplewise, I'm probably only going to refer to those ones used which I know, although I can see there are a whole lot more.
As Batty would say, suck it. So, just a quick prayer to a non-existent god, and we're on our way! Enjoy. I doubt I will. https://image.spreadshirtmedia.com/i...um-t-shirt.jpg Although Death Grips have five albums, they also have a mixtape. After reading up on what that means in hip-hop, it becomes clear that I must include this, and as it's chronologically first in their discography, that's where we start. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ry_artwork.png Album title: Exmilitary Artiste: Death Grips Genre: Experimental Hip-Hop Year: 2011 Label: Self-released Producer: Death Grips Chronological position: Debut recording Notes: Album chart position: n/a Singles: n/a Lineup: MC Ride – Vocals Zach Hill – Drums Andy Morin – Keyboards, programming Not by any means a band I would have chosen to review, but Goofle suggested them way back when I was compiling the discography list, so I didn't want to say no. I think he did it as a joke, but hey, we're here now. I've heard of Death Grips through you guys discussing them, and naturally the mouth covered over to stifle the laughs and the phrase “Trollheart and Death Grips? Please!” have done little to assuage my discomfort or to displace the sinking feeling as I begin this discography, but I'm nothing if not a man of my word, and I promised to do this so I will. I doubt I'll enjoy it though. Pray for me. Review begins Starting off with Manson's voice is not a great beginning, but that's how “Beware” kicks off, then there's a slow, doomy kind of beat with the rap and I do have to admit it's well “sung” (let's just allow me to use that phrase for when I'm referring to how the vocals mesh with the music ok?) and rather amazingly I find I like this. Don't wet yourselves yet though, this is only one track and I'm sure it'll be in the minority. So far it's pretty good though. A long one, too, at just under six minutes. That's Zach Hill on the skins there, innit? He whom we heard on the Face Tat album? Who's doing the second vocal, or is it just multitracked versions of MC Ride's voice? Very effective anyway. I guess the music then would be “Up the beach” by Jane's Addiction, according to Wiki. Maybe that's why I find myself liking this. We'll see. A good start anyway, despite my initial reservations. Anyone who had me bailing at the first track, your money is gone. Deal with it. “Guillotine” has another slow, pounding beat, he seems to be saying “Tickle tickle tickle”, don't know why, or maybe it's something else he's saying. It's okay, not as good as the opener but still not bad. There's more of a rock feel to “Spread eagle cross the block” which is probably due to the sample of Link Wray's “Rumble” than anything else, and the more or less slow pace continues. Supposed to have a sample of the Beasties but I didn't hear it. Arthur Brown is sampled on “Lord of the game” and the speed picks up a little. Quite a bit, actually. Some good drumwork there. Female vocals too, from someone called "Mexican Girl". Indeed. Okay, Frownland reckons I bail on “Takyron (Death yon)” so let's see. Bouncing drumbeats, screams, pretty intense but meh, not sending me scurrying for the exits. Not yet anyway. Kinda like this one to be honest. Very powerful and you can feel the blood pumping. I imagine this goes down great onstage. “Cut throat” doesn't do a lot for me; shown as an instrumental but yer man is shouting over it. Maybe instrumental means something different in this genre? Anyway it's a bit confused but at least it's short, then there are more good drumbeats in “Klink”, which really kicks out the stays and goes a bit mad, really ramping up the intensity. Nice keyboard bit at the end. “Culture shock” opens with what sounds like a great many people falling over a cliff, then there's a mechanical kind of keyboard riff driving it (and there go more people over the cliff in the background) and a voice says “You need to vibrate higher” (?) but I do notice the vocal is much more restrained, less angry and in-your-face than it has been up to now, mostly. It's a nice change. Not quite a culture shock, but, you know, different. Some of that keyboard riff reminds me of the sound my old modem used to make as it connected to the internet (no, we did not always have broadband: look it up), then there's a quick sampling of Pet Shop Boys' “West End Girls” which they choose to title “5D” for some reason before we're heading “Thru the walls” with a powerful energetic drumbeat from Hill pushing it along and sort of squealy keyboard creating a sense of panic and claustrophobia. Maybe. It's almost like some sort of seventies disco thing then when “Known for it” kicks in, though it's noted the samples are by Magma, who are or were a prog band, yes? Pretty odd to see that being sampled by a hip-hop band, but then, maybe they do that all the time. What do I know? Prog continues to be in the mix then for “I want it I need it”, where they take two early Floyd classics, “Astronomy domine” and “Interstellar overdrive” as the backdrop, and it works fairly well, especially as MC Ride follows the bassline down. There's some pretty freaky keyboard and samples (I guess) on “Blood creepin” which finishes up the album, but mostly it runs on Hill's energetic percussion, with a lot of shouting, chanting and chest-thumping. Track listing and ratings Beware Guillotine Spread eagle cross the block Lord of the game Takyon (Death yon) Cut throat Klink Culture shock 5D Thru the walls Known for it I want it I need it Blood creepin Afterword: Nowhere near as much of a trial as I had expected. Still not something I'd listen to for pleasure, though if someone locked me in a room with this I wouldn't be screaming to be let out. I've heard a lot worse, and I am not as worried going on now as I had been when I started this. Actually enjoyed some of it. Maybe it's my inexperience with hip-hop, but it's kind of hard to judge this properly when most of the music is made by other people, and some of it I know. Maybe that might be my way in. If I want a way in. One thing's for sure: I'm not kicking down the door to get out just yet. Who had me lasting to the end of the first album? Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
wow, i'm impressed. that's their most accessible though as far as i'm concerned, so it will be interesting to see how you feel about their newer stuff. either way, off to a good start.
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Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle GUILLOTIIIIIINE
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I just wanna see TH driving through downtown Dublin with his windows down, blasting "System Blower" while his hooptie vibrates like a Sybian.
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I also have no idea what a hooptie or a Sybian is... |
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Urban Dictionary: sybian |
Isn't it amazing that even at the age of 76, Trollheart's vocabulary is still growing?
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